Category: Fundraising

Thank you so much to Caitlin Strong, who is running the Great North Run on behalf of the OPA Cancer Charity, in memory of her Dad.

Update on the Great North Run!

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored me and helped raise money for a wonderful charity, OPA. I had no idea what to expect when running the Great North Run but it was a surreal day, the atmosphere and the people through the whole day cheering you on to cross the finish line! From people handing out sweets and oranges to ice pops and beers! It was definitely an experience I didn’t expect! People you didn’t know would be cheering you on the side lines, it had such an amazing community feel everyone coming together! 

Running 13.1 mile was tough, my training didn’t go to plan for the last few weeks, but I managed to cross the finish line in 2hours 30minutes – which was the personal time I had set! I said straight away I wouldn’t run it again but after having a week to reflect I definitely would!

Caitlin’s Story

“I set myself a goal of doing 30 new things before I turn 30. After, watching on the side lines last year I thought I’d give the Great North Run a go. When I didn’t make the first ballot for the GNR – I changed it from running 13.1 mile run to a 3 mile run (a big difference I know!) When the January ballot came out, I thought I’d give it a second go, little did I know this time round I’d get a ‘Yes you’re in!’ email – that’s when it sunk in.

I’m not a runner, but I’m determined to train and complete the GNR in memory of my Dad, George who lost his life to oesophageal cancer in July 2022. It was a short battle as he was only diagnosed in the February. At the time we didn’t really know much about that type of cancer, which is why I want to raise money and awareness for OPA. My dad was a very sporty person when he was younger and I think he’d be proud of me for accepting the challenge to complete a half marathon! I don’t have a set time, the most important thing for me is crossing the finish line! What will keep me going is reminding myself of the reasons why I decided to run the race and who I am running for.” – Caitlin Strong

Read Paul’s Story here-

“Hello

This June 24th it will be 5 years to the day that I started on the long journey to recovery. This was made possible due to the fantastic efforts of many people who helped along the way, including the surgical team at Bexley St James, Leeds and Oncology dept, York but most especially the kind volunteers at OPA, without whom I probably wouldn’t be here today.

With this in mind, and as part of reaching the milestone of my 60th Birthday in July, I felt it would be nice to give something back.

On the 18th of June I am embarking on a 60 mile hike across the Yorkshire Dales, encompassing the 3 Yorkshire peaks, over 2 days in order to raise funds for this fantastic organisation to which I’m forever grateful and thankful.

For more than three decades, the OPA has been at the forefront of the battle against oesophageal and gastric cancers. Their primary mission is to provide assistance to patients, families, and caregivers while promoting awareness about these types of cancers and their prevention, and this is exactly why I feel the need to do this. The advice and reassurance that myself and my family received from the volunteers at OPA was more than vital, especially as this was during lockdown.

Thank You for your kind Donation.

Paul.”

If you would like to support Paul in his fundraising, visit his Just Giving page here. 

We are incredibly grateful to Ray for supporting the OPA Cancer Charity by organising another fantastic fundraising event, the Band Appeal 2025. 

Thanks to Ray’s continued efforts, we’re able to raise vital awareness and funds to support patients and families through their cancer journey. 

This event will be on Saturday 18th October 2025, at 7pm/8pm start at Charter Club, Haig Memorial, Pasture Road, Goole, NH14 6HE. Tickets are £5 and are payable on the door. 

The line up for the 2025 Band Appeal is below. 

A huge thank you to Pamela who is taking on five races, in memory of her partner Ewan, to raise vital funds and awareness for the OPA Cancer Charity!

If you’d like to support Pamela in her fundraising efforts, you can do so via her Just Giving page:
🔗https://www.justgiving.com/page/pamela-gibb-1

Pamela's Story

“As some may know I lost my partner Ewan Robertson to oesophagus cancer. Ewan was treated for Acid Reflux for 8 month in 2022 which then turned out to be oesophageal cancer. As this is a cancer not really known about and in memory of Ewan, I have decided to raise awareness and funds from the following events I am doing this year. Monikie 5k (May) Race for for life (June) Forfar 10K (August) Edinburgh Ladies 10K (September) and Edinburgh Forth Road Bridge SuperNova (November). If you can spare a penny or two to help this charity I would really appreciate your support.” – Pamela Gibb

A huge thank you to Theo for taking on the challenge of the Manchester 10K to raise vital funds and awareness for the OPA Cancer Charity!

If you’d like to support Theo in his fundraising efforts, you can do so via his Enthuse page:
🔗 https://ajbellgreatmanchesterrun2025.enthuse.com/pf/theo-martin-wilson

Theo's story

I am running the 10K race on May 18th in support of the OPA Cancer Charity because of the profound impact this organization has had on my family. In 2013, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer. While we were fortunate that he survived, the journey was incredibly difficult, both emotionally and physically. The OPA Cancer Charity provided invaluable support during that time, offering guidance, resources, and a sense of community that helped us navigate through the toughest moments. Running this race is my way of giving back to the charity that was there for us when we needed it most, and raising awareness to help others facing similar battles. 

A HUGE congratulations Danielle, and thank you for choosing to support the OPA!

“I am very proud to have completed the TCS London Marathon 2025 and fundraised for the OPA. 

In 2022, I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and underwent curative treatment which involved 5 weeks chemoradiation followed by an oesophagectomy. 

I ran before I had cancer and needed a challenge to regain my fitness to a level close to before I was ill. I was thrilled when the OPA chose me to fundraise for them and represent them at the London Marathon. The OPA’s literature on eating and nutrition after cancer surgery and resources and information on recovery were really helpful to my own recovery and this charity will remain forever close to my heart. 

Having a really good reason to run motivated me through the training and fundraising. I organised a fun run with a raffle for my Scout group where I am a leader. I got married in February and my husband Paul and I had a guess the first dance songsweep stake. I got local newspapers to write about my journey to spread awareness of oesophageal cancer. I really enjoyed the process and  even the longer 20mile + training runs. 

It’s always been an ambition of mine to run the London Marathon and the weekend of the marathon was really emotional. I’d just reached my fundraising target before the weekend and I felt good having raised all that money for a good cause. I fulfilled a dream to run among the crowds and see all the famous London landmarks and I felt really grateful to have survived the cancer and still be fit and healthy enough to do this. The atmosphere was amazing and my favourite part was when a DJ along the route played the YMCA and all the runners and supporters did the arm actions! The first half of the marathon felt really good but I tired in the second half as it was a really hot day but the crowd energy and determination to finish got me through the second half. I was so happy to see my husband and my kids at the 25 mile mark cheering me on and being proud of me and then have the most iconic section of the run to complete with the London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Mall to run down. I managed a heel kick down the finishing straight to celebrate too. I will never forget this experience.

Thank you OPA for giving me the opportunity to run the London Marathon. A really big thank you to everyone who supported me and helped with my training and the upper GI at St James Hospital Leeds who gave me such excellent treatment and who were really supportive of my running and advised me on nutrition and hydration to help me run after my oesophagectomy. It’s a slow long recovery but you can have a good life and do amazing things after this cancer treatment. We need more of the population to be aware of symptoms so it can be caught at early stage for treatment. Keep up the good work, OPA xxxx”- Danielle 

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Click here to view Danielle’s Fundraising Page
“My Story

On the 27th April 2025 I will run the TCS London Marathon to raise funds for the Oesophageal Patients’ Association (OPA) to repay their kindness for supporting me during my own cancer treatment and recovery and to help them raise vital funds to provide emotional support and dietetic advice to people living with oesophageal cancer and to spread awareness of this cruel condition.

My connection to Oesophageal Cancer and Running

I began running in 2016 and love the physical and mental challenge of it. I started from running parkrun and built up my fitness to run the Manchester Marathon in autumn 2021. At the peak of my fitness in May 2022, I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer completely out of the blue after noticing a change in my swallow.  It was devastating as I have no family history and no explanation why I came to have a 6cm squamous cell carcinoma tumour in my mid-oesophagus. Waiting for the results of the diagnostic scans and MDT reviews was the most fraught and anxious time of my life. Running helped me through this: it was no longer about training to get faster times or run further, my goal was to stay fit for treatment and to look after my mental health.  Thankfully, I had been diagnosed early before there was any spread and qualified for curative treatment. I had chemo and radiotherapy in summer 2022 which was brutal – I suffered radiation induced oesophagitis and could no longer eat or drink so needed a feeding tube for nutrition and hydration and morphine to manage my pain. I kept active and the swelling and pain reduced after 6 weeks so I was able to complete The Great North Run in September 2022 with an NG tube 10 days before I had my Ivor Lewis oesophagectomy.  I had to hang up my running shoes for a few months to heal from the massive procedure, relearn to eat and get enough nutrition and rebuild my strength to be able to run again. Getting back to running has helped me regain fitness and motivate me, when I improve at running I know my body is healthy. It has been a frustrating and long recovery at times but I am now heathy enough to have run a half marathon again and my times at other distances are getting quicker and close to where I was pre-surgery. My team at the hospital are amazed with my recovery and were so happy for me when I brought them my GNR 2024 medal to clinic to show them. The hospital dieticians are thrilled to be giving sports nutrition advice to a cancer survivor too! I am ready for this marathon challenge!

My recovery has been so positive thanks to my wonderful partner Paul and my children; my friends, work and Scout group; cancer support groups; the incredible team at St James’ hospital, Leeds; and many wonderful charities like the OPA who have provided me with information and support along the journey. At the start of the surgical recovery, I was given a lot of reading material by the OPA which helped me so much when I was learning to eat again. The OPA card that informs restaurants of my limited stomach capacity or that I might need to use their disabled toilets was so helpful to me. When I received an email from the OPA in October looking for people to run TCS London Marathon 2025 for them who had ambition to run the distance, had a personal connection to oesophageal cancer and who would be committed to fundraising, I felt that I would be a great candidate for this and I am thrilled that they have chosen me to run for them and hope to raise them lots of funds! 

Please support me on my run and fundraising for my cause. If you are able, please sponsor me any amount is gratefully received but I understand times are hard so if that’s not possible then keep encouraging me as I keep building up my mileage and please share this page and spread some information which may lead to a life-saving early diagnosis for someone else. Not all oesophageal patients are as fortunate as me. :’(

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page and for your support

Danielle xx”

An update from Danielle - 3 weeks to go!

I am writing to update you on my marathon training and fundraising. With less than 3 weeks to go I have completed my longest run of 24 miles. I’ve gone a bit further than some runners because of the oesophagectomy so I wanted to check I can keep hydrated and well fuelled.  I am ready for the race and looking forward to it. 

I have raised 93% of my £2000 target and am confident to have that in full before the day. I’ve done some awareness of oesophageal cancer at my work, at my scout group and within my local community. In Scouts we did a fun run and I designed a sew on badge.

http://www.southleedslife.com/cancer-survivor-danielle-to-run-the-london-marathon

http://bit.ly/DanielleOPA 

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A HUGE congratulations to Duncan for this amazing achievement, we are so grateful you chose to support the OPA in your wonderful fundraising efforts! 

“This was my third London Marathon, and for the first time, I secured a spot through the ballot—without any obligation to run for charity. However, after losing my dad suddenly last year to Oesophageal cancer, I felt compelled to do something meaningful. I researched the OPA Cancer Charity and knew immediately that raising awareness and funds for this devastating disease would be the right cause.

The crowd support throughout the course was absolutely world-class—every detail was so well-organized, from the start to the finish line. And, as a bonus, the sun was shining! ☀️

I definitely had to dig deep around mile 20, but when I reached mile 24, seeing my daughter and partner waiting for me was a moment I’ll never forget. We shared a few memorable moments together before I crossed that finish line.

I know Dad/Grandad would have been incredibly proud, looking down on us.

Now, I’m looking forward to a few days of rest before diving back into my fitness training routine!☺️” – Duncan McLaren

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my medal

Message from Sozanne Li, Jack’s Wife

“In loving memory of my one of a kind Dad – Tsapman Li who bravely battled Oesophageal Cancer for just over 2 years. My Husband- Jack Feltham, Sister- Suki and Friend- Matt will be taking part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Trek (25 miles trek / a total climb of 1,585 metres) to raise money for OPA Cancer Charity.

Oesophageal cancer is the 10th most common cancer worldwide, and the 7th most common cause of cancer death around the world. Despite being so common, it is not as well-known as many other cancer types – and advanced oesophageal cancer can be aggressive and difficult to treat.

OPA Cancer Charity offered my family and Dad support and advice during this difficult time and we would love to support them so that they are able to continue providing these essential services.

Anything that you can donate to this page will make a huge difference.

Love you Dad, Miss you so much”

“I decided to run the Brighton Marathon to raise as much money as possible for OPA cancer charity following my dad’s diagnosis of oesophageal cancer in August last year. The past year has been incredibly difficult for my family. My dad has been facing tough treatments with incredible strength, and I wanted to do my part to help.

 

It has blown my mind how much we have raised for the charity – over four thousand pounds! Friends and family have really come together to donate and share over social media.  My dad is well known and loved in the local community and this shows in the number of people who have donated.

 

I never thought I would ever run a marathon! I wasn’t very sporty in school and only started running the last couple of years. This was my first marathon and I’m glad I chose Brighton and to support such a worthwhile charity. It was a great weekend with uplifting crowds all along the course. The sunshine came out which was lovely to see but it was very difficult to run in! I really hope the money I have raised can make a difference.” – Nick Winter

 

“Running the Hackney Half in memory of my grandad who passed away from oesophageal cancer. He always showed up for me, whether it was sports competitions, parents evenings, picking me up from school – now it’s time to show up for him. We miss him every day.” – Laura

Click here to support Laura’s fundraising.